Police investigate propane theft

DANBURY - Someone stole 15 propane tanks, each loaded with 100 pounds of the highly explosive gas, from a construction site on Backus Avenue over the weekend, police said.

State

Homeland Security
officials have been notified. But an official with the company that owns the tanks said it's more likely the theft was committed by someone seeking to profit from the high cost of heating fuel rather than terrorists bent on destruction.

"If a terrorist wanted to use a 100-pound cylinder of propane, he would probably be better off purchasing it legally than take a chance on attracting attention by stealing it," said
Michael Morrissey
, vice president of Bemer Petroleum Corp. of Glastonbury.

The tanks, each of which stands 4 feet tall and weighs about 175 pounds, were taken from outside Boston Billiards sometime over the weekend. The propane was being used to fuel portable heaters while a crew from Pinney Construction of Cromwell worked on the building's exterior.

Police believe the thief or thieves loaded the cylinders into a truck, and they're hoping someone who may have seen a suspicious vehicle at the site after-hours can provide a description.

The tanks are painted white or silver and have a label identifying them as the property of Bemer's.

A spokesman for Pinney Construction declined to comment on the theft.

Deputy
Fire Marshal Carmen Rao
said he saw the tanks at the site on Saturday and was concerned that the workmen hadn't secured them properly. The tanks could have tipped over if they were struck by a car.

When he returned to the site Monday, the tanks were gone, he said.

Morrissey said the contractor called Bemer's on Monday, asking if the company had reclaimed the tanks. It hadn't, he said.

He said it's likely the cylinders were taken by someone hoping to resell them, and he would be more concerned about possible terrorist involvement if a bobtail truck, used to make home deliveries of propane, or a transport vehicle, had been stolen.

"Any security concern should not be very high." Morrissey said. "It's just easier to obtain propane legally at someplace like
Home Depot
, rather than take a chance on getting caught stealing it."

Weston said anyone with any information about the theft, or who might have seen one of the stolen cylinders, should call the police department at (203)797-4611 or the department's TIPS line at (203)790-8477.